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Saturday, April 21, 2018

Janeway Imagine Squad

Anyone who knows my family knows that we spend a great deal of time at the Janeway. With Brennen's surgeries (see HERE and HERE), regular therapy sessions and specialist appointments (in addition to caring for other children who have significant medical needs), we have become frequent fliers of our local children's hospital.

I have written many times about our connection to the Janeway (ie. HERE and HERE), and am always happy to share our experiences and to give thanks to the wonderful medical staff who have cared so well for my family.

A couple of months ago, I received a lovely phone call from our dear friends at the Janeway Children's Hospital Foundation, asking if Brennen would be interested in being part of the Janeway Imagine Squad.

Of course, we said YES!

The Imagine Squad aims to highlight the power of imagination, and features several Janeway kids pretending to interact with their imagination, represented through illustrations that were added to the photos afterwards. I was so excited when we got the call! I know how creative young minds can be, and how their curiosity drives them to explore their world and learn about everything around them. This creativity can be dampened when children are sick, or must spend endless days in a hospital bed. Every child's imagination needs to be stimulated, and when children are unwell or are going through a tough time, the bad stuff needs to be balanced with good experiences and positive images so that they can escape in their minds into a fascinating alternative world. The ability to move from reality to fantasy and back again comes easy to children, and this ability to lose yourself into another world is an asset when the real world can be difficult or depressing.

Many of the photos taken during this shoot will assist in building awareness of how important the Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Hospital is to all of our province's children.

Here is Brennen, imagining himself floating through outer space - weightless and free from the constraints of his wheelchair. There is no pressure on his body or pain in his joints from continuous sitting. He is ready for all sorts of fun space adventures!

Adorable
Asha and Kaleb are also part of the Imagine Squad. Each child has their own
Janeway story and we are excited for you to see them in the coming weeks
leading up to the Telethon.

Keep an eye out for these images on billboards and in print media around town, and make sure you tune in to the Telethon on June 2nd and 3rd to witness the real impact the Janeway has on the lives of so many children in our province. Just imagine what your donations can do!